Monday, March 26, 2018

We walked to The Rocks where the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art is located. They were having the Sydney Biennial. I enjoyed the pieces by and about the Aboriginal culture. The piece above tells the story of the can salt-water Country, Yarrinya. It is a song story of Manbuyunga which depicts the Yarrinya Ocean in which Manyku spirit men hunt their own brother, a whale called Mirinyungu. After the dead whale washed up on shore, the spirit men cut the body and realized they had eaten their brother. They fling the knives into the ocean where they become a dangerous hidden sharp reef. I just love all these stories and how they are connected to the earth instilling conservation in the people.

Cockatoo in Royal Botanical Gardens

The Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens is 74 acres that sits along the water and reaches into the city. It, along with The Domain, an open space of 34 acres which is adjacent to the RBG, occupy all the land between The Rocks, most of the CBD and the area known as Woolloomooloo Bay. The Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Handa Opera are contained within it. Besides a garden it is a research center. Today, we saw research about pollination in a beautiful glass enclosure with a wall of succulents and raised beds of gorgeous color. The gardens have areas that represent Australia’s geography: tropical, desert, coastal. There were dozens of cockatoos that flew overhead making a raucous racket. Pools and cafes sit throughout and were busy with people. The Opera House is visible from one point. We found the most interesting tree that grew its fruit from the large branches of the tree, not the end points where most trees flower. The Coolamon is rare and rarely found these days. We walked around to where the Handa Opera is performed to check out where we will see la Boheme this week. The stage is set against the water with the Sydney Opera and Harbor Bridge in the background. Lots of art pictures, etc at flickr.